The Better Part of Valour
by RavenWriter89
Summary: It's 1980, and Sam needs to leave for his own good. Gene is none too happy about it.
1. Chapter 1

_My first delve into the Life on Mars fandom._

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><p>"Guv, I need your help."<p>

Gene suppressed his startled reaction. He thought he was at the station alone, his office light the only one still on. Damn that boy, but he was silent when he wanted to be, even with that creaky old jacket. He watched him now, outlined in the doorway. The jacket in question had had a hard life and was worn, faded, and even ripped in places. Still Tyler hung on to it like a safety blanket. Even Gene had moved on with the times and favoured black wool instead of his old camelhair coat.

"What is it?"

Tyler hesitated and didn't move from his place in the doorway. "I can't talk about it here. Can we go somewhere else?"

"Pub?" Gene suggested, standing. Any excuse to get away from these files.

"No," Tyler said too quickly. "No, somewhere private."

Gene watched him as he gathered up his coat. Tyler had been acting cagey these last few weeks, and he had seen that behaviour before. As much as Tyler would like to think otherwise, he wasn't the subtlest of officers. Even Ray had picked up on it. But Sam always talked when he was ready, so Gene never pushed it. "Alright."

As they walked to the car, he asked, "Can you at least give me a hint as to what's this about?"

Tyler breathed deeply, as if steeling himself. "I have to leave."

Gene looked at him sharply. "I thought we left all that nonsense behind us years ago."

Tyler blinked. "No, not like that. I mean...shit." He leaned against the car, looking like he was going to be sick. He had never hesitated about spouting his mad ideas before, whether it was 'google' or 'antioxi-whatsits.' This silence was unusual, and small alarm bells went off in Gene's head. Not big ones, not 'he needs a night in the cells' ones, but something was bothering his DI, and that usually meant it would bother him too.

"Get in the car, Tyler. I know a place we can talk." Tyler complied, happy to be given some direction.

His silence lasted until Gene pulled up outside an off-licence. "What are you doing?" he asked, sounding like his annoying, demanding self again.

"Tyler, I am not going somewhere private with a man unless there is heavy drinking involved. Do you want me to get candles and all? This isn't a bloody date."

Tyler made an exasperated, if amused noise, the one that meant he gave up. "Fine. Get one for me as well." At Gene's stare, he said, "It's going to be a long night."

Gene returned with two large bottles of whisky. Tyler looked at the label appraisingly. "Not your usual brand."

"It's not a usual night," he said simply.

They drove in silence the rest of the way. Gene did not say where they were going, and Tyler did not ask. They eventually parked in an empty lot near the mills, beside the river. "Where are we?" Tyler asked finally.

"A good spot for thinking," Gene said, stepping out of the car. He cracked open one of the bottles and Tyler followed suit. They toasted the night and took a bracing swig each. They settled against the front of the car. "So," Gene started, "you tell me you want to leave."

"Not want to, I just...I have to. It's complicated."

"Then explain."

"I can't."

"Then what the hell are we doing drinking out in the cold instead of the warm pub where there's mates and food and more booze?"

Tyler laughed. "Maybe you've infected me with your love of male bonding."

"Good Lord, Tyler, this must be serious," Gene said as he took another drink.

"Look, I'll tell you, I will. But I just want to enjoy the peace, you know. The booze, the car, and the guv, all under the stars." Tyler looked up at the sky, although the stars were mostly obscured from view. "You never really notice the stars, do you? How beautiful they are."

"I'm going to have to be a lot drunker if this is what you want to talk about."

Tyler laughed again and hopped onto the bonnet. He lay back against the windscreen and looked perfectly at ease. He didn't continue talking.

Gene sighed. He was going to have to drag it out of him, something that never happened without a fight. "Alright, how about I start. I say a word and you say yes or no."

Tyler sat up. "Guv?"

"Blackmail," he said.

"Me or you?" Tyler countered. Gene glared at him and he settled back, sighing. "No, it's not blackmail."

"Undercover," Gene continued.

"No."

Gene paused before he said the last option, knowing he had to ask but hating it anyway. "Corruption."

He heard Tyler sit up fully but didn't turn to him. "Me or you?" he asked again.

Gene laughed humourlessly. "You won't even eat a spotty apple, Tyler, I hardly think corruption's in your nature."

"I don't think you're corrupt, Gene," Tyler said quietly. He had an uncanny talent to make a silence heavy, and Gene knew there was more to come. "I found something, and it's dangerous. To everyone, not just me. But I can't tell them about it, they're not ready."

"Damn it, Tyler, spit it out. The last time you found something dangerous, it nearly got us all killed."

Tyler shuffled closer. He was speaking right into Gene's ear and the conviction in his voice was impossible to miss. "This is nothing like that, Gene. I made a mistake and I came back. The last seven years, have you ever had reason to doubt me?"

"Not yet," Gene said, finally facing him. "But you've been acting very squirrelly recently, and you're hiding something. If it threatens this team, _your_ team, then you better well bloody tell me!"

"I'm trying!" Tyler shouted back. Now they were on familiar grounds. Gene could shout down an officer with the best of them, and Sam always fought back. Other people had drinking buddies; Gene had an argument partner.

"It's a damn catch-22," he said, for once making a reference Gene could understand. "If I tell you, it puts you in danger, and if I don't..." Sam trailed off.

"Fine, we'll leave that for now," Gene said. They both returned to their respective positions, Gene against the bumper and Sam reclining on the bonnet. Their rows these days were quick to start and quick to end, Gene noticed. He wondered if that was a good sign or not. "Just tell me about this leaving business."

"It's to do with the thing I found. I can't stay here anymore, not knowing what I know. I have to leave."

"What, for your own protection like?" Gene asked. He'd pulled out his packet of fags and was puffing away, knowing without turning that a disapproving look was on Sam's face. He heard Sam's bottle glug as he took a drink.

"Sort of. Thing is, Gene, I can't just disappear. The others, Chris and Ray, all of them, they'd ask questions. They'd want to find me, and you'd have to shut them down. It would make everything look suspicious." Sam took a deep breath. "That's why I need to fake my death."

Gene nearly choked on his fag. "Bloody hell, Tyler!"

"And I need you to help me," he continued as if nothing happened.

"Not bloody likely!" Gene said, booze limiting his vocabulary to short syllables and foul language. He pushed away from the car to face Sam, ready to fight again. "I know you don't always trust this team, Tyler, or me, but you can trust us to protect one of our own."

"I _do_ trust you, you blithering idiot, that's why I'm asking _you_ to help me! Not Chris, not Ray, not anyone. It has to be you."

"And what about Cartwright? Does she know about this mad idea of yours?"

Sam looked away, fiddling with the wedding ring on his finger. "She knows, in a way. She won't be involved with this, but she'll join me soon. Make up some story. She knows what to do."

"For Christ's sake, Sam, just as I think everything's got back to normal, you go and turn it upside down again."

Strangely, Sam smiled. "Yeah, it's a bad habit of mine."

Sam's calmness took the fight out of Gene. "You're really set on this. On leaving."

"Yes."

"And you can't tell me why."

"No."

"Bollocks!" Gene yelled, surprising both of them. He wanted to hit something, but the only things in reach were Sam and his car. He wanted to throw something, but his bottle was still half-full. His frustration hit him suddenly, and it wasn't until now that he realized how reluctant he was to let Sam go. As irritating as the toerag was, he was a damn good copper. Gene saw how he pushed the rest of the team, trying to get them to use their strengths, to go further, to be _better. _There had been a few moments, when Gene had let his guard down, when he saw how similar he and Sam were.

And now the little shit was bailing out!

"...Gene?"

Sam's voice brought him back. He realized he had walked away from the car and down to the river's edge. "Yeah," he answered. He threw his cigarette butt into the water and walked back. He hated the worried look on Sam's face. When Sam was worried about him, he was slipping badly. "You better have a damn, bloody, bastard good reason for running out on us."

"I do, Guv," Sam said. He reached into his pocket and pulled something small out. "Here. This is for when it's safe. When you're ready." He held it out.

It was a roll of film. Gene took it gingerly, rolling it around on his hand. "And when will that be?"

"You'll know," he said. "And if you don't, I'm sure someone will get through that thick head of yours long enough to tell you."

"I can see you're really torn up about leaving," Gene said sardonically.

Tyler didn't rise to the bait. He reached back into his pocket. "There's something else. It might help, when the time comes." He held the object out, but was reluctant to actually give it to Gene. He finally had to snatch it out of Tyler's hand. The photograph was old and showed a young plod in uniform. He was a skinny twonk, probably didn't have any dirt on his shoes let alone any experience in the field. There was something familiar about it, and Gene realized that the kid in the photo had the same smarmy grin as Tyler. There was nothing written on the back, and nothing to identify the kid.

"This your old man, then?" Gene asked.

Tyler started, and stared at Gene with a very odd expression, like something had just clicked into place for him. "No," he said, "he's...he's someone much better than my father ever could be."

Gene stuffed it into his coat along with the film. "Right. I'll keep it safe then." He stared hard at Tyler, already planning how to go about this. He'd spearheaded enough stings in his day; he knew how to make things look like he wanted them to. "When do you want to do this?"

Tyler waved him off. "Soon as the best opportunity comes up. But let's not do this now, eh? Now that I've got it out, I just want to enjoy this." He shook his bottle a bit.

"Yeah, you want to talk about stars and stuff, you ponce," Gene said, but he settled down and soon enough they were hashing over new cases and going over old cases and who saved whose sorry arse more often. Gene found himself sitting on the bonnet beside Sam, which was more comfortable than he would admit. Gene's bottle was long empty and he was slowly smoking a cigarette when Sam roused himself from his bleary state. Sam's bottle was nearly empty and he kept slipping into quiet moments in which Gene thought he'd fallen asleep. Sam sat up beside him now and pointed his bottle emphatically.

"You know, you are the most irritating, backward, thick-headed, sexist, racist, disorganized, unhygienic bastard I have ever worked with, and that includes Ray..."

"Oh, stop it, I'm blushing," Gene said.

"But," Sam continued, "you taught me to trust my instinct, to know when something had to be done even if it's not by the book, and for that, you lumbering dinosaur, I am forever grateful." Sam smiled as if he'd just proposed.

"Tyler, if you don't stop making goo-goo eyes at me, I'm going to have to dunk you into the river to smarten you up," Gene replied, taking the bottle before Sam could drop it, "and then I'd tell Cartwright to whip you into next week."

"She'd do it, too," Sam said dreamily.

"God, give me strength," Gene muttered. He finished off Sam's bottle before chucking it with his own.

" 'M serious, Guv," Sam slurred, stretching out. "That's a damn fine team you've put together. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Doris Day," Gene said. When he got no reply, he looked beside him to see a very passed out DI sprawled out on his car. He sat smoking on the bonnet until his packet was empty, then watched the stars as the clouds scudded by.

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><p><em>tbc<em>


	2. Chapter 2

It took almost a month before Gene was ready. He called Tyler into his office and said without preamble, "I've found a way to kill you."

Tyler stared. "Don't sugar-coat it just for me," he said. He looked at the piles of papers on Gene's desk. "What do you have?"

"Robbery. Jewellery store." He slapped down a file. "My snouts have been muttering about something like this for a week. Now we have details. Bunch of first-timers who think they know the business. They're planning to split up, and in the confusion, you go off on your own." Gene made sure to stay matter-of-fact. "You can have a nice little accident. No one will be any wiser."

Tyler sat on the sagging couch. "You really have this all sorted, don't you?"

"Their meeting place," Gene continued, "is near these warehouses. They'll have to pass by the river here. That's where you go in. Your car's shite anyway, no one will blame you for missing the turn and losing control."

Tyler said nothing. He seemed a bit shocked.

"That's where I'll meet you. Put the finishing touches on it. You got that, Dorothy?"

That roused Tyler somewhat. "Yeah, I got it." He glanced through the file. "I just didn't expect something so...meticulous."

"I'm full of surprises, me," Gene said. He tossed Tyler another file. "Here's another one. I hope the shock doesn't do you in."

Tyler looked at the unfamiliar mug shot clipped to the inside of the file. "Who's Paul Thordy?"

"A nutter," Gene said. "And a conman. Likes to pretend he's other people. Even burned his fingerprints off, the twat."

"What's he got to do with this? We're not going to set him up for my death, are we?"

"No, of course not. Wouldn't want that on your conscience, would we?" Gene pulled out a cigarette. He only smoked at work when he was agitated, which seemed like every time Tyler was in his office. He lit it up and took a drag before answering properly. "No, but we need someone unreliable. No matter how much we make it look like an accident, people will wonder. You've made a fair few enemies in this town, and any of them could become suspect number one." Gene pointed to the file. "You pick up Thordy, give him some of that nonsense you told Tony Crane, and no one will believe a word he says. Having him raving about whatever madness he picks up from you will take the pressure off other villains. No one gets blamed, no one gets banged up." Gene took a long drag of satisfaction, knowing he had surpassed his DI's expectations.

"Except for Paul Thordy," Tyler said, half-laughing.

"He pretends to be the son of veterans and steals their money. He deserves to be locked up."

"When's the heist?"

"In a week."

"We'd better go get Thordy then."

Sam walked out of Lost and Found to find Gene waiting for him. "It's done," he said. "I told him everything. He seemed to like it."

"Good lad."

The jewellery heist went down exactly as Gene predicted. Ray and Chris went off with a panda to pursue them, with Tyler as backup, while Cartwright had been left to control the crime scene. Gene drove off on his own, which surprised no one. He told the others that he was going to set up a road block at the hideout. The thieves split up, some on foot, others in another getaway car. Everyone was separated in the confusion.

Gene ignored the radio chatter of Ray and Tyler arguing and drove in silence. He pulled into the lot beside the river where Tyler stood waiting. It was the same lot where Tyler had revealed this crazy plot, but it looked quite different in the daylight.

"You ready?" he called. Tyler nodded and pulled a petrol can out of the boot. They had both agreed on fire; it would destroy any evidence left behind. He doused the inside while Tyler fashioned a fuse out of a rag.

"Last chance, Tyler," Gene said when they were ready. Tyler just nodded. Gene lit the fuse and they pushed the car down the embankment. It picked up speed as it went and hit a bump at just the wrong angle. It rolled over just as the petrol caught fire. It was rather a spectacular sight.

"You were right," Tyler said, the first words he had spoken since Gene arrived. "That car is shite." He looked at Gene with that smug half-grin and was positively giddy.

"Get out of here, Tyler. Off to wherever it is you're running to. I'll deal with the rest of it."

"Thanks, Guv. Say something nice about me in the paper."

"Yeah, I'll tell them all the best lies. Now, go!"

Tyler shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Gene. "Something else to make it more authentic. You look after that jacket, you hear me?"

"Like my own child. Go, you stupid nancy!"

Tyler grinned as he turned and ran. He ducked into an alley and was gone. Gene walked down the bank and threw the jacket into the water beside the burning wreckage, immediately breaking his promise. It would look like Tyler had struggled out of the car but was too injured to avoid being swept into the river. Gene went back to radio DS Carling for assistance, officer down. He was still standing by his car when the chaos arrived.

Gene was walking by himself to the pub when a shadow beside him moved. "Tyler," he said in acknowledgement. The DI in question slipped out of the darkness and stood on the pavement. "Hunt," he replied. "How'd it go?"

"Well, there's a lot of denial, and lot of what-ifs. Everyone's blaming themselves. So I guess it went all according to plan."

Tyler looked abashed. "Did you catch the thieves at least?"

Gene levelled his gaze at him. "I hardly think that's something you should be worried about. Why are you still here?"

Tyler nodded in the direction of The Railway Arms. "You really need to ask why when there's a pub within throwing distance?" At Gene's silence, he continued. "Because that's what you do after a job. You go to your boozer."

Gene looked between Tyler, looking cold and alone without his jacket to act as armour, to The Arms, full of light and noise and mates. He knew, with that finely honed instinct that let him survive this long, that Tyler was always heading towards this pub. He didn't understand it, and didn't want to, but he knew that if Sam went in there, it would truly be the last time he saw him. He heard Sam come and stand next to him and felt him put a hand on his shoulder, the only sign of affection that he thought Gene would allow.

"You certainly outdid me as a DCI," he said.

"You were a good copper," Gene said. They left it at that. Anything else had already been said when alcohol had loosened their tongues.

Sam let go and stepped forward. "It's been a long day. I'm gagging for a pint."

"Yeah," Gene said. "Get one in for me and all." Tyler started to walk away when Gene added, "See you around, Sam."

He smiled and walked into the pub. DCI Gene Hunt walked back to the station to drink alone.


End file.
